The Pros And Cons Of Having A Dog

Our family conflict over the last year has been if we should get a dog or not. I am a dog person. I have always had dogs and I think of them as a part of the family. My husband is a cat person. He has never had a dog and knows nothing about dogs.

We have discussed this topic at length over the course of a year, but more significantly within the last two months. Eventually, my husband softened to having a conversation about his reservations behind getting a dog. He admitted that the thought that having a dog would stress out our cat and that he thought that dogs and cats did not get along. He also said that he was afraid of the damage that it would do to our home from chewing and scratching things. He mentioned that he thought that dogs were smelly and loud and did not want to listen to barking every time someone walked past or knocked on the door. His final arguments were regarding the lack of time that our family has for a dog.

I found all of his ideas regarding dogs were stereotypical and I kindly calmed some of his fears. I explained that I wanted a small dog that was good for condo living and easy to transport, as I would want to take the dog to work with me every day. I also explained that if a dog is trained that they will not bark, scratch or chew things in the …show more content…
We investigated the pros and cons of different small dog breeds and ages. We were conscious of the different training issues associated with getting a puppy verses an adult dog. Finally, we found a dog at the Animal Services Pound, just last week. He was a rescue, which I was happy about, as I believe in rescuing animals before buying from a breeder. He is a small dog that is already house trained, so there have been absolutely no issues with integrating him into the home. He is smart and very easily trainable, so it has not been an issue teaching him the ways of our home. Our cat has a new companion and my husband is starting to enjoy the dog`s company as